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Category talk:Fan fiction by genre
Format vs. Genre I'm starting to second guess some of my original intentions of categorization here. Format vs. Genre was originally pretty clear in my mind and now, not so much. I think what I'm leaning towards is a change. I'm starting to think of genre as a way of specifying elements of a story that are more nebulous and format as a way of specifying more stylistic or presentational elements. I'm not sure if that makes any sense to anyone else though, so before people start putting more into these categories as the stories start getting added, I wanted others to see these. Formats, to me, are quite distinct. A work either is or is not a novel based on its word count. A work is or is not a poem. And it most definitely is or is not a script. There's no half way about formats. It is unlikely, though not a complete impossibility, that a work belongs to more than one format, but they always are or are not one of them. I cannot think of an existing work of fan fiction in the FK universe that *might* be one format but maybe not. A genre, on the other hand, is more nebulous. A work may have dramatic elements, but the manner in which they're written may not be considered dramatic by some people, who may think them humorous. A work may include significant humorous elements, but the main character may die, making it also a tragedy. I can think of several genres for several stories based on their elements. Are my definitions okay or do they need tweaking in some way that I've not considered? (I'm guessing yes, hence my request for comments here). And based on the answer to this, do we leave round-robins, virtual seasons, cross-overs, challenges, and FK Wars here, or do we move them to the format category instead? Why? Hard decisions, but best to document them somewhere, I think, so that we make sure future additions go to the right place.--Kodia 00:40, 12 January 2009 (UTC) :In theory, format (or form) should be dead simple: you've got three basic forms—prose, poetry, and drama. In practice, of course, things get more complicated; but a script is a script is a script. :One problem comes when forms are put to use—at which point we drift into format. At this point, we need to consider length. For prose, we have the nice (albeit somewhat arbitrary) definitions of novel, novella, novelette, short story, vignette, drabble, et al. Your term "flash fiction" isn't one I've come across before; and I doubt if it would be recognized by my rather conservative English Department. But that's another matter. :Then, there's the question of the singular vs. the concatenative (series). Today, we tend to think of sonnets as individual 14-line poems; but, when they were invented, they actually came in "sonnet sequences", sometimes with over a hundred of them, all variants on the same theme, often with a measure of sequentiality. This can be compared with the individual episode of a TV show vs. the whole series. Of 70 episodes, in the case of Forever Knight. :In other words, "series" is really a format. But it could be a series of short stories, comic books, TV episodes, or mystery novels. That brings in your idea that something can belong to more than one format simultaneously. :On the whole, I think you've got a fair working handle on "format". :"Genre" is something else; and what you've said here actually blends two things that, from a lit crit theoretical perspective (and this is my field, remember!) are actually considered to be separate things: genre and mode. :When you talk about things being "dramatic" or "humorous" you are talking about mode. Mode tends to be fairly general, and cuts across both genre and format. I guess the latter is obvious: you can have humorous poems, short stories, and movies. But you can also have humorous detective stories, westerns, romances, and spy stories—which is where "genre" comes in. :In one sense, all Forever Knight stories fall into the same genre, in as much as you are dealing with dark fantasy, i.e. fantasy fiction based on a supernatural motif associated with horror fiction but dealt with in a largely non-horrific manner. Nevertheless, within this, we can certainly differentiate between different types of FK fan fiction in ways characteristic of genres. That's because genres are typically quite narrowly and specifically defined by a concatenation of characteristic variables—typical plots, motifs, formats, modes, etc. :Thus, one can talk of the "LK story" as a genre. With subgenres even, depending on whether "Last Knight" is taken as given, or Natalie saved or brought over. (Setting/post LK time, characteristic plot options) :Now as to your list: "round-robins, virtual seasons, cross-overs, challenges, and FK Wars" :The round-robin strikes me as being a format. It's a multi-part story with multiple authors. :The "Virtual Season" is both. It is a genre—actually a subtype of LK story, but a very special type. However, it is also a format: specifically a series of 22 (written) TV episodes presented sequentially. So it should be treated as both genre and format. :The "Cross-over" is tricky. I can't see how it can be called a format. On the other hand, calling it a genre seems a bit odd. But it's certainly the best choice. (Character/non FK from another fic universe) :"Challenges" are another tricky one—because the motive for writing it is the defining factor, which is extra-literary. I'm nor sure it's either format or genre. After all, unless the challenge is specific in those areas, the results could, theoretically, be in any format or genre. (Of course, the individual stories have genre and author; as well, they should be identified with the specific challenge in question, maybe with a link.) As for the Challenge itself, I think it's actually a Fan Activity. :Come to think of it, round robins are also a Fan Activity. As well as a format. :"FK Wars" are also a Fan Activity, of course. But, like round robins, they are multi-part stories with multiple authors. This time with multiple plot lines. That makes for a distinctive format. However, they also are set in a curious meta-world that is out of both real and fictional time, and there is a characteristic combination of RL and series characters. That suggests that the FK War is also a genre. Stick it in everywhere, that's my suggestion. :To add a couple more: :One could interpret "Song fic" as a format, since the song is interpolated through the prose. However, it is also essential that the song be in some way relevant to the story. (Plot.) That both elements are necessary suggests to me that "Song Fic" is actually better treated as a genre. :One can consider "Holiday fic" to be a genre. In fact, one can be even more precise and talk of the "Christmas story" as a genre. (Setting/time, characteristic plot elements) :And lest we forget! In a very real sense, "Slash" is a genre, too. (Plot.) :Does this help? -- Greer Watson 05:35, 12 January 2009 (UTC) Yes, it does help, though I might quibble about some small, unimportant details. I think then, to summarize, what we're looking at is as follows: *'Formats' will include prose stories that have a measurable length, including flash fiction (vignette's), short stories, novelettes, novellas, and novels. They will also include poems and scripts. Because of the unique manner in which some bits of fan fiction in this universe are generated, formats will also include stories written as part of story challenges, FK wars, round-robins, and any work written as part of virtual season. *'Genres' will include a wide variety of categories, some of which may overlap with formats assigned to stories. To date, the driving reason for including something as a genre is that the plot, setting, or characters are in some way affected by the classification. It is highly likely that there will be far more genres assigned to stories than there will be formats and that these genres will be entirely subjective and mutable. To list all genres would be impossible but we have chosen the initial genres of humor, drama, crossover, holiday stories, slash, and filk. To this, we have also added the hybrid genres that are unique (I think) to FK's fiction-writing community and may also be considered formats by some authors. These include virtual seasons and FK wars. Both more formats and especially more genres will likely need to be created, but should probably be discussed as needed in order to ensure there's a record of the logic behind their placement in format, genre or both. Is that the right of it, for the most part?--Kodia 15:38, 12 January 2009 (UTC)